Val Kilmer: I’m Your Huckleberry (2021)

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There are some who believe that life itself is a canvas for creative expression and that even the act of making a cup of coffee, in the right hands, can be a form of artistic expression. Life is art and art is life.

Not only do I see some truth in that, but I’ve had that cup of coffee.

It’s an idea not far off from the imagination-driven world dissection you’ll get from Val Kilmer’s recent memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry. The title is perhaps the most iconic line of dialog from the perplexing and varied career of one of America’s most gifted actors.

If you’re young enough to need perspective, first of all, thanks for reading.

Second, you can count Kilmer as a contemporary of people like Sean Penn, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Bacon, and some guy named (checks notes) Tom Cruise. Every name on that list has enjoyed, at some point, the kind of mainstream success that always seemed to elude Kilmer.

Except for this “Tom Cruise” character. I can find no verifiable evidence of his existence since 1986.

Unconfirmed sighting from 1991

Despite the eventual cult credibility provided by Kilmer’s earliest roles, Top Secret (1984) and Real Genius (1985), neither of those (underrated) films should be considered an all-time classic. Top Gun (1986) was a runaway success but not at all of the type a seasoned stage performer like Kilmer was seeking.

After another well-loved but underperforming crowd-pleaser in Willow (1988), it seemed as though mainstream success might finally be at hand with The Doors (1991), an Oliver Stone collaboration in which Kilmer was easily the best part.

Unfortunately, throwing your lot in with Oliver Stone in the 1990s was a bit of a mixed bag, critically speaking.

Just ask these guys.

It would be his performance in 1993’s Tombstone that, for both critics and people of a certain age, would finally server to immortalize him. Kilmer played legendary gunslinger John Henry “Doc” Holliday, a mainstay of the American West and American culture in general. Kilmer all but stole the film, and his portrayal of this historical figure is considered by many to be definitive.

And it produced what even the man who delivered it concedes is the most memorable line of his career.

“I’m your Huckleberry.”

It’s a fancy, old-timey way of saying “Come get some.”

You can argue whether or not it’s his best role (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Tombstone, and Wonderland might have a word). But it is, in my opinion, the apex of Kilmer’s pop culture profile.

It is a tour de force performance in a project filled with them. He directed the same energy toward fulfilling his professional goals. Like many in his generation, he idolized Maron Brando and jumped at a chance for the two to work together. The result was The Island of Dr. Moreau, a 1996 film whose journey to the screen is a much better story than what eventually made it into theaters.

The upside was that Kilmer and Brando became good friends. The downside was that Brando’s famously relentless professional ethic became a bigger story than anything in the script.

Pictured: A famously relentless professional ethic

Even worse, Kilmer’s existing reputation for rebellion took a hit from which it never really recovered. Whether you choose to call him “difficult” or “uncompromising”, it’s worth asking why an artist so eager to stay true to himself would take on the role of Batman.

Not just because it’s a franchise, or even because it’s a brightly colored superhero flick with colorful fast food tie-ins, boring press junkets, and confabs with every wacky late-night talk-fest. It’s because Batman is an orphaned billionaire incel by day who dresses like a flying rodent and spends his nights wandering the streets, beating up meth addicts.

And, sometimes, evil clowns.

They never even called Brando…

You’ll want to read the book to discover his simple answer. It’s one I can relate to, and it serves as delightful confirmation that artists are people too.

Of course, the most significant aspect of Kilmer’s life since 2015 has been his struggle with throat cancer. It remained in my mind as I perused chapter after chapter of his extraordinary life, filled as it is with professional accolades, personal privilege, and some truly exceptional celebrity girlfriends. His talent was undeniable. And at the height of his powers, the guy looked like an action figure even without the Batsuit.

And that voice!

That man had a voice like drawn butter.

The cancer robbed him of that, his acting career, at least as it had been, and most importantly, his health. Were I in his place, I’m certain I’d be bitter. But what makes Kilmer’s story so engaging for me is the fact that well before we ever reached that part of his life in the book, I was already sure he wasn’t that kind of person.

I’m not saying Kilmer’s never been a jerk.

Dude robbed a bank, after all.

He intermittently confesses to making manner of shocking mistakes, even if he’s never much more specific than that. This book is not a confessional; it’s a testimonial from a man who on the outside, might seem to have always led a charmed life. But in reality, celebrities are subject to heartbreak, impulsiveness, and egoism just as the rest of us are. And let’s be clear about something:

Fame, wealth, and even exceptional talent can’t protect you from cancer. But if you’re tempted to pity the man for this, you shouldn’t.

I was once involved with a woman of means who struggled with Lupus. It’s an autoimmune disease that is probably less formidable than cancer, but I still wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Yet whenever she encountered a flare-up and I offered her anything that sounded like concern, she would almost invariably say:

“I’m not glad this happened, but I’m glad it happened to someone who can handle it.”

What she meant was that she had both the resources and perspective to deal with this unusual affliction, while most other people generally didn’t. She suffered physically and emotionally, of course, but I found her mindset to be eminently practical. It’s not what you have, or even what happens to you that defines you, it’s how you handle it.

If there’s a theme to this book, that’s probably it. The key to true growth lies in finding ways to be grateful for the things you have, rather than resentful over the things you don’t. Sure, it’s easier said than done, but how many things can you name that aren’t?

Others find their way through things that overwhelm the rest of us, and biographies are a great way to learn how that’s done. That’s why I’m reading Val Kilmer’s biography instead of him reading mine.

I see in him an eternally inquisitive spirit that can’t stop pulling at life’s loose threads. I gathered, from his crisply self-styled narrative, that it’s important to him to continue his creative process growth the acts of living, learning, and growing in every corner of his life.

It was deeply inspiring, from the very first page. “Your company brings me hope,” he begins. Sorry…that’s technically not how he starts the book. He commences by crooning:

“I have a crush on you.”

Oh, my. The man began his story by talking about…me?

I too, was smitten. If every copy of this autobiography turned out to be a mystic talisman, capable of bringing its author closer to each reader, that would track. Because rather than rob him of his gifts, Kilmer’s condition appears to have led him to discover new ways to create and thrive and to be of service to others.

If life is art and art is life, my guy’s most important work may still be ahead of him.

You are indeed my huckleberry, Val Kilmer.

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Joblo Movie Clips

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Tombstone is available to watch on various platforms in various ways:

Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, DIRECTV online and to download it on AMC on Demand, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, and DIRECTV.